When you feel like having something just a little bit fancy on a weeknight, these Pork Chops with Peach Salsa will fill the bill while still being easy to make and quick to get on the table. A little spicy, a little sweet, and altogether enjoyable.
The inspiration for this recipe comes from Nigel Slater, author of Tender and Ripe. He lives and gardens in a small space in London, but he hasn't let the restriction of space keep him from growing much of his own food. He has a beautiful way with words pertaining to gardening and seasonal dishes. Purely motivational.
Marinade for Pork Chops with Peach Salsa
You can start marinating the pork chops as early as the night before, but it doesn't hurt a thing to just let them sit in the marinade for 30 minutes before you cook them. The flavors are strong enough to still permeate the meat.
The ingredients for the marinade are tamari (a gluten-free soy sauce), avocado oil, fresh garlic, Chinese Five Spice, red pepper flakes, and salt. Mix them together and pour over the meat making sure to coat all sides.
The tamari sauce linked in the previous paragraph is one recommended by Carrie Vitt at Deliciously Organic. Carrie has loads of great advice and care tools for dealing with Hashimoto's and one that I look to for tips on products.
You can use regular soy sauce if you either don't have to avoid gluten or don't have issues with soy products. Coconut aminos work as well helping you to avoid gluten AND soy all together. When I use coconut aminos in place of soy sauce, I usually add a little vinegar (apple cider vinegar works just fine) since the aminos are a bit more sweet than regular soy sauce. Just a splash is all you need.
Let's make the Peach Salsa
You might think that peaches would make this salsa too sweet, but combined with the green onion, red pepper, tomatoes, cilantro, and lime juice, it's really a lovely compliment to the pork chops.
I always start with the tomatoes, red pepper, green onions, and cilantro. Then I add the lime juice as I cut the peaches and add them. The juice helps the peaches to not oxidize and turn brown, buying me a little more time to get the chops done.
How to serve Pork Chops with Peach Salsa
These pork chops are excellent on their own with a green vegetable, but rice is really good with them. The marinade and salsa is a great marriage with rice.
Recipe
Pork Chops with Peach Salsa
Ingredients
FOR THE PORK CHOPS
- 4 bone-in pork loin chops
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 Tablespoons gluten-free tamari sauce See Notes
- 1 Tablespoon avocado oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon red chile flakes
- 1 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice
FOR THE PEACH SALSA
- 2 green onions
- 1 small red chile or less if you don't like too much spice
- 8 cherry tomatoes
- 1 small bunch cilantro about ⅓ cup
- 3 medium peaches
- 2 limes, juiced about 2 Tablespoons
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
FOR THE PORK CHOPS
- Put the pork chops in a glass or ceramic dish.
- Chop the garlic very small, then add the tamari sauce, avocado oil, salt, red pepper flakes, and the Chinese five spice. Pour this over the chops making sure to coat all the sides of the pork chop.
- Let marinate for 4 hours or overnight. (See Notes.)
- To cook the chops, heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add a little oil, then place the pork chops in the skillet. Reserve the marinade. Adjust the heat as needed to keep the skillet from smoking. How long you need to cook them totally depends on how thick the chops are, but it will likely only be 5-7 minutes per side. When in doubt, use a thermometer. Remove them from the heat when they are 130-135°. Let them rest for about 10 minutes. Add the reserved marinade to the skillet, let it come to a boil, and reduce it by half.
FOR THE SALSA
- Just before you cook the pork chops, make the salsa by cutting the green onions, chile, tomatoes, and cilantro into a very small dice. Peel, pit, and finely chop the peaches and toss everything with the lime juice and olive oil.
HOW TO SERVE PORK CHOPS WITH PEACH SALSA
- Serve the pork chops with the salsa over rice or accompanied by a green vegetable. Sauteed Garlic Green Beans would be awesome!
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